By Monica D’Ippolito
NEW PALTZ – The State University of New York New Paltz collected its seventh consecutive victory Saturday afternoon in the Hawk Center after defeating the visiting Cardinals of SUNY Plattsburgh, 62-43.
A tight seven-point contest at halftime, the Hawks (15-2 overall, 9-1 SUNYAC) dominated the second half, out-scoring Plattsburgh 32-20, while holding the Cardinals to seven made baskets and forcing 12 turnovers in the final 20 minutes to get out in front and hold on for the comfortable 19-point victory.
SUNY New Paltz moved the ball well against Plattsburgh’s zone defense and as a result had balanced scoring for the second consecutive night, as four different players were in double-digit points. The Hawks were led by none other than graduate guard/forward Brianna Fitzgerald who finished with a game-high 20 points, while adding eight rebounds, five assists, a block and three steals on the day. Fitzgerald was honored prior to the game following her historic quadruple double performance Friday night in a rout of Potsdam, as she became just the 10th player in Division III history to achieve the feat.
Kayden Cornell was the next highest scorer for the Hawks as she finished with 12 points in 33 minutes off the bench, while adding four boards, four assists and a steal. Sierra Carter and Hannah Vanderzee followed offensively, as Carter totaled 11 points, three rebounds and two steals, while Vanderzee registered 10 points and 15 rebounds — a career-high —with five stemming off the offensive glass, to go along with four assists, two blocks and two steals.
A fast-paced game through the opening 20 minutes, both teams turned the ball over a combined 27 times but SUNY New Paltz did a better job of taking advantage of the miscues, scoring 14 points off Plattsburgh turnovers, while the visitors only capitalized with four points in the same category.
The hosts created its first 10-point advantage of the game on a jumper by Fitzgerald with a minute left in the half but took a 30-23 lead at the break as the Cardinals earned back three points before the halftime buzzer on a make from the corner of the arc.
Although Plattsburgh shot slightly more efficiently in the first half at 40 percent with the Hawks connecting on just more than 34 percent from the field, the difference was on the glass, as SUNY New Paltz came down with 11 offensive rebounds with eight second-chance points to allow them to flex the seven-point first half lead.
The trend continued in the second half for the Hawks, forcing turnovers and capitalizing with their tenacious defense suffocating Plattsburgh.
The Cardinals got as close as five with three minutes left in the third, but SUNY New Paltz finished the quarter on an 11-point run to take a commanding 16-point advantage. Carter capped the stretch as she swished on a 3-pointer to end the period, grabbing a loose ball off of Fitzgerald who picked up the assist on the play, which helped the Hawks go into the final 10 minutes of regulation with a 50-34 advantage.
Back-to-back defensive plays allowed the hosts to go up by 20. Cornell ignited the stretch, getting her hands on a steal before finding Fitzgerald running the floor. Vanderzeee then got into the passing lane for a steal before finding Cornell down court for a fastbreak bucket to create a 20-point difference with four minutes to go. Kamryn Hoyt gave SUNY New Paltz its biggest lead of 22, as she swished on a catch and shoot 3-pointer off a dish from Carter to push the score to 62-40 with two minutes left.
The Hawks hung on for their fourth-straight 19-plus-point win forcing Plattsburgh to drop to 9-7 overall and 4-5 in the SUNYAC.
